The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) hosted the IVCA CAT III Summit 2025 today in Mumbai, bringing together 200+ participants from across the investment ecosystem. With fund managers, limited partners, regulatory officials, wealth advisers, and market experts in attendance, conversations focused on the growth trajectory of and future prospects for Category III alternative investment funds (AIFs) in India.

Category III AIFs—encompassing long‑short equity, market‑neutral, and quantitative strategies, have surged in prominence. As per SEBI data, these funds raised ₹1,47,435 crore and invested ₹1,63,029 crore across registered schemes as of March 2025. Their growth stood out against the broader AIF segment, which saw ₹5,63,429 crore raised and ₹5,38,161 crore deployed, driven considerably by the Category III segment.

In his keynote address, Shri CS Pradeep Ramakrishnan, Executive Director, International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), shared perspectives on recent regulatory measures and the emerging role of GIFT City as a fund management hub.

“GIFT IFSC has emerged as a credible and attractive jurisdiction for fund managers globally, 177 FMEs are registered with IFSCA, managing over USD 22 billion in cumulative commitments across 272 schemes. What’s particularly encouraging is the growing diversity of investment strategies, spanning VC, PE, hedge funds, special situations, and long-only approaches. This reflects increasing confidence in the IFSC framework. At IFSCA, our aim is to provide regulatory clarity, build market trust, and support innovation. We are committed to creating a thriving, globally competitive fund ecosystem at GIFT City,”

Throughout the summit, discussions spanned structuring innovations, semi-liquid credit strategies, compliance frameworks, investor education, and risk-managed portfolio construction. Emphasis was placed on the need for clear regulatory guidance and greater transparency to build investor confidence and scale institutional participation.

 Senior representatives from AlphaGrep Investment Management, Aequitas Investments, Carnelian Asset Advisors, Sameeksha Capital, Avendus Long Only Public Equities, Eleveight, IC RegFin Legal, Vivriti AMC, 3P Investment Managers, ASK Hedge Solutions, DSP Asset Managers, Nuvama Asset Services, Nuvama Private and Multi-Act contributed insights drawn from their domestic and international experience, highlighting best practices in product design, market alignment, investor education, and performance tracking.

The summit sessions reflected the growing sophistication of Category III AIF strategies in India and the rising interest from institutional and high-net-worth investors. Discussions underscored the importance of tailoring fund structures to evolving investor preferences, while also advocating for streamlined regulatory frameworks to support innovation and scalability. Speakers emphasised the need for ongoing dialogue between industry stakeholders and regulators to unlock the full potential of alternative investment vehicles in India’s maturing capital markets.

The event concluded with a strong industry-regulator consensus on deepening engagement and fostering a resilient, transparent, and innovation-led future for India’s alternative investment ecosystem.

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About Shri CS Pradeep Ramakrishnan

Shri CS Pradeep Ramakrishnan is a graduate in Commerce and a Fellow member of ICSI. He has worked in the secretarial department of Madras Fertilizers Limited, Chennai, during 1999-2000 and as the Company Secretary of Kothari Petrochemicals Limited, Chennai (Listed Company), in 2000-2002.

He joined SEBI, Head Office, Mumbai, in February 2002, starting off with the Primary Market Department. He worked at the Southern Regional Office of SEBI from 2008 to 2015, after which he commenced his second stint at the Head Office. He was working in the Corporation Finance Department at SEBI in charge of issue, listing, compliance, and monitoring functions from 2015 to 2020. At SEBI, he handled the issue and listing of corporate bonds at the Department of Debt and Hybrid Securities. He took over as Executive Director of IFSCA in February 2024. He handles the Capital Market department, along with corporate finance, equity, hybrid and related products, the division of sustainable finance, market infrastructure institutions – regulation and supervision, investment funds, and the division of supervision of intermediaries.

About IVCA

The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital (IVCA) is a not-for-profit, apex industry body promoting the alternate capital industry and fostering a vibrant investing ecosystem in India. IVCA is committed to supporting the ecosystem by facilitating advocacy discussions with the Government of India, policymakers, and regulators, resulting in the rise of entrepreneurial activity, innovation, and job creation in India and contributing towards the development of India as a leading fund management hub. IVCA represents 450+ funds with a combined AUM of over $350 billion. Our members are the most active domestic and global VCs, PEs, funds for infrastructure, real estate, credit funds, limited partners, investment companies, family offices, corporate VCs, and knowledge partners. These funds invest in emerging companies, venture growth, buyouts, special situations, distressed assets, and credit and venture debt, among others.